Slytherin Attitude
by draregerreip
Summary: Manipulative!Harry's road to hell is paved with good intentions... but I love happy endings. A tale of deceit and manipulation, of errors and successes, of sex first and love later, of sacrifice and courage... Will end up HP HR NT ... probably ...
1. Day of celebration and sorrow

** Slytherin Attitude**

**Chapter 1**

_**Day of celebration and sorrow - June 13, 1998**_

The few remaining students in the Gryffindor common room scattered as she approached the stairs to the Gryffindor boys' dormitories. The Head Girl was obviously furious.

"Everybody out! You should all be in the Great Hall. The Minister has already started his speech." And after a pause"Seamus, have you seen Ron" asked Hermione Granger.

"In our room" answered a blanching Seamus. But she was already gone and he barely heard her muttering "I knew it" before the door of the seventh years dorm slammed shut.

"Ron, what are you doing" asked Hermione to Ron Weasley who was sitting on his bed.

Ron was obviously concentrating on the letter he was writing because he hadn't even looked up when she had entered. But hearing her, his head whipped up and he started rather guiltily to gather all the parchments and letters scattered haphazardly on his bed.

"You should have been in the Great Hall for twenty minutes. We need to be there. The Minister has already started his speech and all the aurors are present. We need to meet them…" loudly continued Hermione.

Suddenly, Hermione's tirade stopped in mid sentence. As the same time she had been reprimanding her boyfriend, she had started looking at the mess on his bed. Among them, a letter had caught her eyes. It was written in orange ink with a header she immediately recognised. After all, she had seen this orange logo on many of Ron's clothes for the past seven years. As Ron was trying to pick up all his documents and hide the letter he was writing, she picked the letter and started reading in more details.

"Chudley Canons - Personnel Department – Professional Trials Schedule… What is this, Ron? You are trying out for a Quidditch team? Why didn't you tell me" she asked slowly.

Looking very sheepish, Ron didn't answer immediately. He was seemingly trying to find an answer that wouldn't set off his temperamental girlfriend of sixteen months. "Well, I just got their letter and I was going to tell you about it tonight…"

"Ron, the letter is dated may 7th; you can't tell me you have just received it" said a reddening Hermione.

Arms crossed below her chest, Hermione eyes were glinting and Ron immediately recognized the danger signs. He definitely didn't want to set off an explosion tonight and tried to reason her. "Hermione, You Know Who has only been gone for two days. That's why I did not tell you before. As he is gone, there is no need for us to become Aurors. I have this great opportunity; I don't want to miss it"

"But Ron, we were supposed to go through Auror training together. If you go Quidditch, I'll be alone there. I don't want to be without you." said Hermione with what looked like a mix of hurt and anger in her eyes. She definitely didn't want to go through that without her boyfriend, especially since to be with him was one of the reasons that she had chosen that specific path.

"As a matter of fact, Hermione, I think it's actually a good idea that we do things separately." Ron stood up and walked behind Hermione. He took her into his arms and continued "Since … well you know, for almost two years, we have done everything together. We are not fifteen anymore. I believe that we do need to be apart. We don't want to get attached by the hip. I mean … I love you but we need to meet other people, to have different activities and interest… "

While Ron rambled on, Hermione tuned him off and started thinking. She could see Ron in the full length mirror situated to the right of his four poster bed. Ron had a guilty look. She knew him better than he knew himself but she had the feeling that she was missing something … and suddenly it clicked … the guilt, the rambling, the obviously rehearsed speech, she stepped out of his embrace and turned around to face him.

"Ronald Weasley, are you dumping me" she asked, cutting him off.

"No, no … but … I mean He is dead… there is no need for more Aurors and I want to try out …" stuttered Ron, but he was as red as his hair while he mumbled his answer and his eyes did not meet hers.

"OK Ron, if you say so! Let's go! We are already very late. We will discuss later" said Hermione angrily, taking is hand and pulling him toward the door. Little did she know that she would never have the occasion to really pursue this conversation.

The Great Hall of Hogwarts was filled to the brim. The Hall itself had had its size increased threefold and all tables had been removed by the House elves to accommodate the gathering. Only one small platform remained where usually dined the Hogwarts' staff so that everybody in the Hall could have a good look at the speaker. It seemed that the whole wizarding world was present that evening to hear of the previous days momentous events. Reporters, students, members of the Ministry, of the Wizengamot, everyone that counted was present that evening to hear about the demise of the Dark Lord, once again at the hands of the Boy-Who-Lived.

A seething Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley in tow, entered the Great Hall, dead last of all Hogwarts students, as the Minister concluded his speech and what she heard did not help to improve her already battered feelings.

"… so, now that you know the facts, I will not take more of your time tonight but I will let the hero of the hour speak for himself. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honour to introduce tonight the Boy-Who-Lived or maybe should I say the Man-Who-Won-Again, Harry James Potter." finished the minister stepping down from the platform.

As soon as he was down, a young man in ample black dress robes covering him completely from neck to toe gingerly stepped on the stage. All were shocked by his appearance. Harry moved with difficulty, having clear balancing problems. His face had been recently singed. He had lost most hairs on the top of his head, his trademark scar had almost disappeared under a fresh burn on most of his forehead and he had no eyebrows left. But the most shocking were his eyes. His ordinarily bright emerald eyes were that night a dull sea green. Only people who knew him well could see it, but for them it was obvious that Harry Potter was deeply troubled and the looks his helper was sending his way could only reinforce that impression. The young woman dressed in the strict midnight blue dress uniform of the Aurors was making sure he would not fall while climbing on stage. She would have looked striking if not for her spiked pink hairs.

The crowd went dead quiet when Harry Potter started to speak in a flat low voice.

"You know, the end of June has always been the worst part of the year for me. Leaving Hogwarts, my home, to go back to the Muggle world was a real blow… and something terrible always happened… well except for last year, which was actually one of the best times of my life…"

As he said that, his eyes stopped wandering and met those of a blushing Katie Bell, but soon, he continued in a stronger tone.

"But I'm rambling. Three years ago, almost to the day, Voldemort came back. Even if the Ministry did not want to believe it at the time and Cedric Diggory died. Two years ago, my Godfather Sirius Black was killed by Bellatrix Lestrange during a fight inside the Ministry and at that occasion I learned of a prophecy relating to Tom Riddle and myself. What did it say"

Not a sound was heard in the Great Hall of Hogwarts as everybody waited to hear and understand the relation between the former Dark Lord and their saviour, Harry Potter.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches … born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies … and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives … the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies …"

"Everything I have done since then was aimed at destroying Voldemort. I have trained secretly and I made sure not to appear more dangerous than any regular student. My goal was to make sure that when we would meet next, he would be sure of my innocuousness. We have been very lucky, it worked and Voldemort headless body is now stashed in the Ministry morgue. I have done my part, people. He is gone. Now it's time you do yours. You can't let corrupted officials such as Cornelius Fudge or influential Death Eaters families like the Malfoys or the Notts dictate our policies .You can't let dark wizards gain such power as Voldemort's…"

And suddenly, Harry stopped his tirade, looking at his audience as if seeing them for the first time.

"Damn, I am still a student. What do I know of politics? The only boon I ask from you, people, is what I have tried to do myself for the past few years: Do what's right not what's easy… "

After a long pause, the crowd started to stir; their hero was silent, looking at the floor as if he was struggling with himself on how to continue. Most of the attendance had started to think that he was done when he resumed his speech and as he talked, his eyes were constantly roaming the room with what seemed to be a mixture of fear and hope in them until they stopped on a pretty brunette with hairs which were no longer bushy but rather curly.

"And that's also the real reason why I am here tonight. To do what's right, … to apologize… publicly. Some time ago, I said terrible things in this very same place to people that were very dear to me. There was a reason to the madness. You know who you are and tonight I beg you to give me a chance to explain my actions, a chance to redeem myself. Your friendship meant and still means everything to me. The only thing I ask is a few minutes of you time …"

With that said, Harry Potter started climbing down the platform. The young auror approached to make sure he was okay and murmured to his hear

"Are you okay, Harry? Are you sure that's the right time to do it? She doesn't seem to be in a particularly forgiving mood."

Harry looked in front of him. The crowd between him and Hermione Granger seemed to have magically melted away. Hermione looked thunderous. He shivered but said to his cohort

"I'm fine, Tonks! Shaky and fearful but fine. I need to do this and hope for the best. For years, I have been waiting to explain my actions. I have rehearsed a thousand times what I would say to her"

Nymphadora Tonks just shook her head and followed him.

As Harry Potter approached her, Hermione Granger's blood was boiling 'How dares he? I can't believe the gall. For two years, he did not speak to me but to insult me? I am going to rip him apart!' As soon as Harry was in front of her, he started to open his mouth but Hermione did not let him start. She was enraged. She wanted to repay him for her humiliation. She wanted him to suffer for the pain he had caused her. She wanted to see him cry as she had cried. She wanted to yell at him, she wanted to fight with him.

"Potter, do you really think that killing Voldemort gives you any right to talk to me? After you humiliated me in this same Hall in front of several hundred students? Anyway, what do you want Potter? Another notch on your bedpost? Another round in the Head Girl's room? Well dream on! Conceited, egocentric, macho, mean, self-centred and that's only your better qualities. You are so full of yourself, it's a wonder you are not floating around. You talk about friendship but you don't have any idea what it means. You know what Harry, your parents and Sirius did not deserve to die for someone like you but somehow I am glad they are dead because if not they would be ashamed of what you have become. I can't stand you. How was it already? Oh Yeah! I don't want to listen to you! I don't want to talk to you! Get lost, Potter"

Harry was rooted in place. He could not move. He could not think. She had cut him off at the knee. At that instant, he realized that she wouldn't ever forgive him and that his penance for killing Tom Riddle would be the loss of the friendships that meant the world to him. He was lost, with nothing to live for…

Hermione could not believe it. His face didn't register anything. He didn't seem to care. She wanted him to fight back and he was just looking at her as if she was a child ranting her ire, looking at her and waiting for her to stop, so she continued, yelling.

"What is it that you don't get, Potter? The words I'm using are too complicated for your small brain. Let's make it simple then … Fuck off and die, Potter"

She stopped then, most of her anger spent and he continued to look at her, saying nothing. Only his eyes registered his inner turmoil. For the first time since she had started yelling at him she looked in his eyes and she suddenly understood that he did care. A lone tear came down his face. He looked at her a last time and turned around, without a word, leaving her alone among the crowd. She couldn't understand what had just happened.

Like in a dream, she saw Tonks getting to Harry, talking to him, trying to stop him. He answered softly. She could not hear his words but Tonks let him go and Harry Potter left the Great Hall of Hogwarts with thousand of eyes locked on his stumbling back.

As soon as he had left the Hall, Hermione started to get very uncomfortable. It seemed that everyone in the hall had reported their attention on her. She barely noticed that Ron had distanced himself from her at some point. A stray thought crossed her mind 'He doesn't want to be associated with the girl who shattered the Boy-Who-Lived, he doesn't want to mess with his Quidditch dream'. She didn't get the chance to muse further upon it as a younger girl with slightly protuberant eyes stepped in front of her, visibly extremely upset.

"Hermione you may have received the best grades in a century but you can be a dumb bitch. Mark my words, you will regret your little speech to Harry… I almost pity you, your so comfortable life is going to be so upset..."

Hermione was dumbfounded. Never had she seen Luna Lovegood so incensed. The usually dreamy blond seemed definitely ready to punch her when Professor McGonagall stepped in.

"Miss Lovegood, that will be enough. Miss Granger, please come to my office"

"But, Professor …" started to answer Hermione. She did not get a chance to go any further as Minerva McGonagall draped an arm over her shoulders and started to direct her to her office, gently saying.

"Hermione, I believe you have said enough for tonight. Now shut up and come with me."

Hermione was so shocked by the Headmistress tone and use of her given name that she followed her without a word, not even noticing the surprising group of people in her wake. They all were reflecting on the past years and they all had one common thought"How in Hell did it come to that"


	2. Order meeting

** Slytherin Attitude**

**Chapter 2**

_**Order meeting - June 28, 1996**_

It was late at night and there were very few lights still visible in the Hogwarts Castle. This room in one of the highest towers was among the few exceptions. The meeting of the Order of the Phoenix was slowly rolling to an end and the atmosphere was rather subdued. The relief at having Voldemort's return acknowledged by the Ministry was contrasting with the recent death of Sirius Black. Since the events at the Ministry of Magic a few weeks prior, there had been no Death Eater activities across the wizarding world and it felt like the calm before the storm.

"Any other subject that we need to discuss before adjourning for the day, or should I say the night" asked Albus Dumbledore, looking around the table with a small smile.

At that point, Kingsley Shacklebolt, raised his head and his eyes crossed the old headmaster's, doubt written on his face. His attitude surprised Dumbledore. Kingsley was not usually one to hesitate. He was one of the most direct person Albus knew.

"Is there something troubling you, Kingsley? Any problem at the Ministry" prodded Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling slightly.

"No, the Ministry goes its own slow way under the enlightened direction of our glorious Minister of Magic" snorted the dark skinned Auror. "It's about Harry Potter."

Instantly, the room grew tense. Harry Potter was Dumbledore's protégé. They did not know exactly why, but they all knew that The Boy-Who-Lived was important to this war that had just started… Even if they did not know exactly how or why? Across the room, there were very different feelings toward the teenager, ranging from profound care to utter disdain. But, in any case, they wanted to know what was troubling Kingsley.

"What about Harry? Are there any problems with the wards" slowly asked Arthur Weasley, his concern for this son's best friend clear in his voice.

"No. The wards are fine. Te protections surrounding Privet Drive are untouched" answered Shacklebolt and after a moment "It's more his attitude which his a problem."

"What has the brat done again" snarled Severus Snape "Tried to escape, more underage magic, some other stupid attention getting prank "

"Severus, the boy has just lost his Godfather, give him a break" answered somewhat hotly Molly Weasley. Her concern for Harry echoing her husband's.

"It's more like what he hasn't done" interrupted Kingsley "I have been in charge of monitoring Privet Drive this summer and Harry's attitude is quite troubling. He just doesn't seem to do anything. He stays in his room all day. He doesn't seem to eat. He just stares at the window the whole day and most of the night. His sleeping patterns are inexistent. He has nightmares … I mean I can hear him yelling in his sleep from across the street and …"

At this point, Kingsley speech stopped. He had been more and more forcefully and suddenly he stopped, as if he did not want to voice his idea.

"And …" gently pushed Albus.

"And… I believe he may be suicidal, Albus".

At that word all hell broke loose. Molly Weasley just gasped and started crying. Severus Snape snorted. And various "Come on" "You can't be serious" echoed through the room until Dumbledore silenced them all with one powerful word, before continuing. "How did you get to that conclusion, Kingsley" he asked, all his attention focused on Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Even as a senior Auror, being on the reception of the most powerful wizard of the age full attention was somewhat intimidating and the Auror had to mentally shake himself before replying without stuttering "Last night, under an invisibility cloak, I hovered near his opened window as he was yelling in his sleep. It was difficult to understand what he was saying but he was obviously replaying the Ministry's events of a few weeks ago, in a loop. And it didn't get any better; it even seemed to get more and more gory at each repetition. When he finally woke up after may be an hour, he started shaking and silently crying. And then he started talking to his owl. He was not totally coherent but the gist of the matter was fairly clear. It all revolved around half a dozen points: he felt totally alone and abandoned, he wanted a real family, he could not support the abuse anymore, he did not want to save the world, he did not want to be a murderer and finally he would like to die so as not to endanger his friends anymore. After some time and many repetitions around the same themes, he started rambling about dying and at one point he said very distinctively 'It would be so easy to die'. Bottom line, I believe the kid needs help or he may not make it through the summer …"

Snape had heard enough. "You couldn't spare us the Potter pity party, Kingsley. What's his problem? The golden boy of Gryffindor has lost his Godfather, so what? He had known him for a few months at most. It's not like he had known him for all his life … and anyway Black was a danger to everybody …" Snape suddenly stopped his angry tirade. He had seemingly lost his mouth and was confronted by an extremely irate Nymphadora Tonks, her wand pointed directly at him.

"Do not talk about Sirius like that! He was worth ten of you. Harry as well! For your information, it doesn't matter how long you have known someone to have feelings for them." She paused for a second and looking at him with scorn she said "But what do you know about feelings anyway"

As Snape started to draw his wand, Dumbledore bellowed "Stop it you two! Severus, holster your wand! Tonks, give him back his mouth" Tonks muttered but complied and soon the two protagonists were once more sitting, sullenly, at the table.

A seemingly shaken Albus continued in a very subdued "Thank you Kingsley. I did not imagine that Harry's condition was that severe. I need to think about it, but in the mean time I am willing to hear any suggestion on how to brighten Harry's mind."

All the members of the Order were shocked. Never Albus had asked for their input regarding Harry. He had always been his pet project and he kept his cards very close to his chest. It was a testimony to Dumbledore's surprise that he asked for their contribution in this matter.

"Harry wants to become an Auror, maybe we could arrange for him to train. He is a good defence student but he is far from Auror level. Do you think we could get the underage magic restriction raised for him this summer" slowly asked a concerned Minerva McGonagall. She hated to think that one of her student could be considered suicidal, especially Harry whom liked at least as much as she had liked his parents.

Dumbledore shook his head "I doubt it Minerva. Cornelius is not really fond of Harry, which is an easy way to say that he despises him. He will block anything which is not deemed essential to Harry's survival, even if I push for it. So as long as he is in charge …"

Mundungus Fletcher raised a hand and said "Quidditch camp"

"What do you mean" asked Arthur Weasley, obviously interested by the subject.

"Well, Puddlemere United organizes this summer a development camp for teen-age Quidditch players who want to make it in the pros. It starts next week and as Harry is an excellent seeker …"

"That's not an option, Mundungus" interrupted Albus"Harry must stay at his aunt's home for some time, at least until his birthday"

"Mundungus, don't ever mention this Quidditch camp to Ron or Ginny" said somewhat distractedly Molly Weasley. "Albus, I suppose the Burrow is also out of the question"

Dumbledore nodded silently then turned toward Tonks and asked her "What did you say, Nymphadora"

"Hmmmm, nothing Albus" answered a blushing Tonks.

"I believed she said something like 'Sex'" interjected a smiling Emmeline Vance who was sitting next to Tonks. That raised a few eyes and chuckles across the room.

"Well, that kind of make sense, he is a teenager after all. Are you proposing your services Tonks" said a leering Alastor Moody.

Tonks was obviously distraught, the colour of her hairs switched from pink to blue to green and back to pink in a rapid succession, clear sign she was stressed. She shook herself and stabilized her vivid display before answering, visibly peeved "No! I mean Harry is a nice bloke, but he is too short and too skinny for my taste. I don't even know if he likes girls. Why don't you give it a try"

Moody suddenly stopped smiling. "As a matter of fact, you're right, Tonks. He is skinny and short as if his growth had been stunted at some point. Albus, if I remember correctly, James was much taller at his age and Lily wasn't a skinny girl either. She wasn't fat or even ample but she had curves, … not like her sister… What could he mean by the 'abuse' comment? Albus, could he have been referring to his Muggle relatives"

In the following silence, all the eyes turned to Dumbledore who looked thoughtful "You may be right, Alastor I hope not but you may be right. I must say that I have always been more concerned by external threats to Harry than by any potential familial feud."

"Ron always asked me to bake cakes and he always looked thinner when he arrived at the Burrow than when we had left him at King's Cross" interjected Molly.

Arthur, following his wife's lead, continued "I must say his uncle seemed awfully rude each time I saw him. We know they did not treat him well. But I'm starting to think it could have been much worse than that"

Dumbledore stood up and started walking alongside the table. After a moment he turned toward them. "Kingsley, I want you to go to Privet Drive and try to get any information regarding Harry's treatment by his relatives. Speak to Mrs Figg, to the neighbours. If necessary, don't hesitate to Legilimens them, I know it's not one of your better skills but you should be good enough to pass through any Muggle natural shield. Try to be discreet. Obliviate only if necessary" Looking at the others, he said "However Harry has been treated in the past, we need to make sure he is alright this summer. That must be our priority. I must say I am very concerned by his mental state following the events of the last year."

Moody had been silent for a while, half listening to the various propositions of the Order members. After having reached his own conclusion, he waited for a silence in the discussion and asked Dumbledore.

"Albus, is he that important to this war"

"Yes Alastor, he is" simply answered the old headmaster.

"OK! The more I think about it, the more I believe is growth has been stunted. Abuse, underfeeding, whatever, but at close to sixteen, Harry has the body of a thirteen years old. He doesn't even seem to have completely been through puberty yet. We all know that it has an impact on his magical development. He is already powerful but he could be much more."

Everybody was listening to the old Auror. "Here is what I propose. I will get him through an intensive physical training to get him in shape, something even more rigorous than Auror training."

At this, Tonks and Kingsley winced. They knew that Moody wasn't jesting and they were feeling slightly sorry for Harry.

"I will stay with him and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, which will also allow me to keep an eye on his relatives. I will enlarge his room so that we can have a little gym in there. Albus, I'll need a house elf to make sure we can concentrate on our goals. I'll bring my own books to give him some basic training in tactics and deployment during the rest periods. I'll bring a magical dummy from the Auror Academy for the Martial arts. As he won't be able to go out to run, I'll also need to get a few of these Muggle fitness machines. Bottom line, I guarantee you that when I am done with him at night, he won't have the energy to have any nightmare." finished a chuckling Moody.

"And how do you plan to make him cooperate? He isn't the most assiduous of students, you know" asked Severus Snape, doubt clearly written on his face.

Before a reddening Minerva could answer, Mad-Eye turned toward Snape and told him seriously "Don't worry Severus, I have done that for many years. I know exactly which button to push to stop … his pity party as you said I believe." And after a pause, he looked at Dumbledore and said "Seriously Albus, I can make him do it. For a time, I can make him sweep his problems under the rug so to speak… but I can't fix him. That's your job… or at least your responsibility."

Albus Dumbledore looked at Moody for a long time, as if trying to assuage his own doubts and finally said smiling.

"All right, Alastor, he is yours. Do your worst … and thank you"


	3. World discovery

** Slytherin Attitude**

**Chapter 3**

_**World discovery – June 30, 1996**_

The sun was high and, for once, shining over this part of England. It was the start of the summer but it was still a weekday and Privet Drive had been fairly active that morning.

'257' thought Harry Potter adding another passing car to his tally.

Harry Potter was idly staring at the street from his bedroom's window. 257 cars had rolled in front of his eyes since he had woken up that night at four. He hadn't really watched them. He didn't know why he was still counting. He just knew that the counting kept him from thinking. He didn't want to think about his life. Abuse, hunger, death, prophecy, danger… anywhere he directed his thought, he was always reminded of what he had already lost and what fate seemingly had in store for him.

Harry was so focused on not thinking that he didn't even hear the door to his room opening. A gnarled wizard entered slowly and looked at the room. It was almost bare. The walls seemed not to have been painted since the building of the house and were now a dull grey. There was almost no furniture: a rickety bed, one chair, one opened trunk and that was all. No books, no clothes, but for a few opened letters next to the bed head there was nothing to indicate that anyone lived in this room. It reminded Moody of a prison cell.

"Stupefy"

Harry didn't even hear the spell. One moment he was sitting on his chair, counting the passing cars, the next he was sprawled on his back, a really pissed Alastor Moody yelling in his face.

"Potter, what did I tell you about 'Constant Vigilance'? You need to be aware of your surroundings at all time. You can't let yourself be stupefied that easily. Why didn't you hear me coming in? For that matter, where is your wand?"

"Go away Moody! Leave me alone!" answered an irritated Harry. He hadn't heard Mad-eye enter that was true, but he couldn't let himself care. What was the point anyway?

"Sorry kid! I can't do that. It seems you are stuck with me for the rest of the summer." said calmly Moody.

"What? I don't need a minder, Moody. You can go back to Dumbledore and tell him get out of my life. He has done enough as it is. He is even worse than the Dursleys" yelled a really peeved Harry.

"I am not going to be your minder, Harry. I am going to be your trainer." continued Moody seemingly unconcerned

"My trainer?" snorted Harry "Trainer for what? So that I can get more people killed? Just leave me alone … please?" Harry finished somewhat plaintively.

Seeing that Moody wasn't willing to leave, Harry got up and lay down on his bed. He turned his back to Moody, decided to ignore him until he left.

Moody looked at he teenager's back, sighed and went to pick up the lone chair. After bringing it near Harry's bed, he sat and said softly "So Severus was right after all, you are a whining brat…"

As much as he wanted to ignore the old Auror, Harry couldn't let that pass. He didn't move but it seemed that his mouth ran off alone. "Snape doesn't know anything about my life. He is convinced I had the perfect upbringing… plump pillows and everything." Harry suddenly faced Moody and fixed him challengingly.

"Does it look like I am pampered? Does it?" Harry asked, rather rhetorically.

Moody looked at Harry for a few seconds before answering. "Actually, it's not that bad…"

"What?" Harry was stumped. He didn't expect that answer at all. He didn't have time to react further before Mad-eye continued.

"The way I see it, kid, you got two problems. One you have a guilt complex the size of Hogwarts. You got suckered to the Ministry and Sirius died. Voldemort tricked you. You are neither the first… nor the last. He is an expert at these mind games. You can either roll over and wait to die or you can learn from it and train to fight; That's your choice …" Before going further, Moody paused to study Harry's reaction.

Harry stayed silent, looking stubbornly at the floor. He didn't want to think about Sirius. He didn't want to reflect on Moody's speech. The pain was too fresh. So, he waited for Moody to continue.

Realizing that Harry was not ready for this discussion, Moody decided to continue his baiting on another axis.

"But your most important problem is that you have lived an incredibly sheltered life. You don't realize how lucky and blessed you are…"

That was two much for Harry. He exploded. He stood up and got real close from Moody, he started yelling in his face "What? What do you mean lucky? I lost my parents at one. You have been living with the Dursleys for fifteen years. They hate me. They barely feed me. I have been beaten by my uncle and my cousin. I had to leave in the bloody cupboard until I was eleven. My room is a dump. Do you call that lucky?"

Moody looked unmoved by Harry's outburst and said in a flat tone "Yes… and I can prove it to you in less than four hours … if you are adult enough to accept proof that you may be wrong."

Harry was at a loss. Moody looked dead serious. He had challenged Harry's outlook on life and Harry did not know how to react. A small part of him wanted to crawl back in bed and pull the sheets on top of his head… but the rest of him, the largest component wanted to understand how Moody could say such … idiocy so persuasively"

"You … You are serious?" stuttered Harry

"Deadly… Dare to try?" said Moody. A small glimpse of triumph crossing his eyes, he drew his wand from his forearm holster. Taking a small multicoloured cube from his pocket, he signalled Harry to touch it.

As Harry complied, Moody tapped the cube with his wand and they both felt the familiar pull of a Portkey.

The first things Harry noticed were the oppressing heat and the humidity. A thin cover of perspiration seemed to have materialized instantly on his skin. More surprising was that it seemed to be late afternoon. Harry looked at Moody quizzically.

"What was that Portkey?" he asked.

Moody looked at the cube in his hand and handed it to Harry while answering

"Oh! The multi-site Portkey? It allows you to select your destination by changing the patterns on the cube. It's a very nifty invention by a Hungarian Auror called Rubik. I understand it even wormed its way in the Muggle way as a kid's puzzle."

"No! I mean where are we? And why is the sun setting?" asked a puzzled Harry.

"I guess you have never left England before. Ever heard of time zones, kid?"

As Harry nodded, Moody continued. "Well, that's something at least. We are in Thailand. In Pattaya, to be more precise, a celebrated tourist haven …"

As he heard Moody, Harry started to look around. They were in a small darkened street. It was obvious now that they were not in England. The odours were different. The buildings were different. He looked at Moody who was waving his wand toward his legs and blurted the first that came into his mind.

"Aren't there supposed to be customs or something?"

After Moody finished his spell, he looked back at Harry and smiled "There are. But I didn't think we wanted to advertise to the world that you were travelling. Don't forget I have been an Auror for over eighty years and over that time I have learned to travel incognito."

Harry was surprised at the new look Moody was sporting. His magical eye looked … normal and his wooden leg was hidden by loose fitting khakis and boat shoes. But for his mangled nose, he looked the perfect image of an affluent elderly tourist.

"Let's transfigure your clothes so that you look the part, Harry" Moody said as he muttered another spell. One by one Harry's clothes morphed into something similar to Moody's clothes. Harry was more and more confused. He looked at Moody and blurted "Why are we here?"

"Come with me and you'll see soon enough!" With that, Moody started walking and Harry had no real choice but to follow him.

After maybe fifteen minutes, Moody mumbled "Here we go!" Harry had not really paid attention to where they were going. He was too busy gawking around, taking in the people, the stores, the street merchants. Everything was so unlike what he was used to that he felt like in a dream with a strong sense of unreality. He realized suddenly that Moody had been talking to him. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"I said" sighed Moody "that I wanted you to follow my lead. I need you to not act surprised or shocked by what's going on. Can you do that?"

Not feeling sure of himself, Harry nodded and followed Moody in the seedy looking bar in front of which they had been standing. As soon as he had entered, Harry felt himself blush from head to toe. The bar was full of girls. He couldn't help but notice that they were all pretty Asian girls. But what had him blushing was that they were all very much nude.

Suddenly, Harry felt himself pulled forward by a chuckling Moody. He realized that he had been staring around for a minute. After they had sat themselves in a corner, Harry turned to Moody and whispered "What in Hell are we doing here?"

Moody looked at him and the grin slipped from his face. "I have been told that you wanted to be an Auror. So watch and learn. Forget about the girls and tell me what you see."

Harry mumbled "Easy for you to say… What do I see? Lots and lots of very pretty and very nude girls…"

"And …" pushed Moody

"And a lots of guys leering at them"

"Good. Now we are getting somewhere. Notice something about the guys?"

"Yeah! Almost none of them are Asian and they all look fairly old. Moody! What is this place?"

"A brothel Harry. I assume you are familiar with the name"

Harry felt himself blush anew. He was feeling so stupid. Sex was one of the topics which seemed reserved to late night discussions in the boys' dormitories. He had heard of places such as this one from some older students. When in fourth year, he had heard a seventh year brag that he actually had been in one. But this place didn't look like what the boy had described. The room looked dirty with ratty old Muggle movie posters on the walls, and the girls seemed much too young for … that. Harry's thoughts stopped when he saw one of the girls coming toward them. All he could do was stare at her face, forcing himself not to look at her body. A stray thought crossed his mind 'Her face looks a lot like Cho. Merlin she is beautiful. I wonder…' His eyes wandered downward for a moment. The girl had no pubic hair whatsoever and he felt himself growing hotter. The girl arrived in front of them and without hesitation, just sat on Moody's lap. She said in a very accented English. "Want to have a good time?"

Moody grabbed her waist and brought her closer. He murmured something in her hear that Harry couldn't catch then gently pushed her back. The girl pouted but didn't insist. She stood up, walked back toward the bar and started talking to one of the only Thaïs in the room.

"What did you say to her?"

Moody turned toward Harry and said "I told her that she was too old"

"What do you mean old? She must be at most seventeen." Harry said, his eyes flickering to the girl. He was so surprised he had almost forgotten she was nude.

"… and that I wanted to see the younger ones."

"What?" repeated Harry, feeling rather overwhelmed. It was going too fast for him but he didn't have time to reflect further as the Thaï was coming toward them.

The guy just said "Follow me!" before walking toward the exit. Moody complied, Harry in his wake. They tagged along and soon after they were standing in front of the steel door of a nondescript building. Video cameras were tracking them. Forty seconds after their guide had knocked, the door opened and they were ushered inside a darkened hallway. They followed a veiled woman along a long corridor. After going down a few steps, they entered a brightly coloured room. Harry stopped breathing. Inside the 500 square feet room were maybe fifteen scantily clothed kids, boys and girls, aged between eight and thirteen at most. As they entered they could see the back of another "customer" exiting the room with a girl and a boy of maybe ten in his wake.

Like in a dream, Harry watched the kids. They seemed to be kept in good health but their eyes were vacant. They did not play like kids their age but staid put either lying on one of the three couches which adorned the room or sitting directly on the floor. They looked at them with no sense of curiosity or dread. Harry felt strangely ashamed at being in this place. While he looked at the kids, he could see peripherally Moody engaging in a discussion with the veiled woman. At least, Moody shook his head and Harry felt relieved when he heard Moody telling him "Let's go kid!"

When they finally exited, Moody grabbed Harry by the arm and without a word, led him at a fast pace in a backstreet. He then let him go and almost shouted at him "So Harry, tell me? Have you ever been sexually abused, raped?"

"What? No! Of course not" answered Harry, spluttering in indignation.

"Well! Lucky you! These kids you saw. Their bodies are sold probably once a day to tourists in search of excitement. The girl who proposed to us has probably been a prostitute since she was ten or twelve. The younger ones don't survive very long that kind of abuse."

Harry couldn't believe what he had just heard. If he hadn't seen it with his eyes he would have sworn Moody was lying. "But why are the police not doing anything? And what about the kids' parents?" he asked in indignation.

Moody sighed. He had obviously been shaken as well by their ordeal. "It's a complex problem Harry, both in the Muggle and Wizarding world. About the Muggle Police, a simple answer is corruption. It's a simplification but the country is so poor. They don't want to scare the tourists who bring in a lot of cash so… and as for the kids… well… some of them have been sold by their own parents but most of them are orphans…"

Harry shuddered at the thought as it reminded him of his dead parents. He didn't have too much time too think on it as Moody started to bend over and took off his shoes, signalling Harry to do the same.

"Let's discuss this later if you don't mind. I want you to see a few other things and we can't stay out of your aunt's house for more than a few hours." said Moody.

As soon as Harry had his shoes off, Moody brought out his Rubik's cube as Harry thought of it and with both hands touching it they were propelled to a new location.

They arrived in a small alcove in a large red stone building. The temperature was even hotter than in Pattaya but much drier. Moody didn't waste time and soon they were walking out of the building shoes in hand. Harry gasped. The sight that greeted him was incredible. A huge white building with a large onion-shape domes and four flanking towers. Harry had never seen anything so magnificent.

"Welcome to the Taj Mahal, kid. Definitely a magical place … even if it's been built by Muggles." said softly Moody from behind him. Harry was speechless. Even Hogwarts couldn't compare to the splendour of this monument.

"Put your shoes back on, kid and let's go." Harry heard Moody telling him.

Shaking himself, Harry bowed down to comply and while tying his shoes on, he couldn't stop himself to ask. "Why did we have to take the shoes off?"

Moody chuckled and answered immediately as if he had waited for the question. "Well, as we arrived in a small mosque, it seemed rather a good idea."

Harry looked around and indeed all the people entering or exiting the building were shoeless. As soon as Harry's shoes were on, Moody started off toward the exit. Once out of the complex, they were immediately crowded by a number of small kids, each begging for something different. Harry didn't know which one to look at. His hears were resonating with cries and yells of "Rupees, Mister", "A Pen? A pen?" or "A sweet?".

He looked at Moody with near panic in his eyes and heard him saying "Just ignore them!" as he walked on. Not knowing what to do, Harry strengthened his resolve and pushed through the numerous young beggars and jogged to catch up with Mad-Eye.

"Can't we give them anything?" asked Harry. To what Moody simply answered "Which one?" Harry was speechless. He just had nothing to answer back so he just followed the old Auror.

They walked for maybe half an hour, wandering the streets of the city, Agra in India, had Harry been told. It seemed to Harry that they were walking aimlessly. Harry continued to gawk around. That city was so different from Pattaya or anything he had seen in England. He was fascinated. Often he saw tourists bending down to give money to a sitting beggar. He was struck by the numbers of vagrants in the streets. Suddenly, he felt Moody drape an arm across his shoulders.

"Now I want you to look" Moody said in a whisper looking to his right. Harry followed his gaze. He closed his eyes almost immediately wishing never to have to see That again.

"OK! Can we go now?" Harry whimpered trying to get away.

Moody's arm was still across his shoulders and his hand was crushing Harry's shoulder in a grip of steel. Harshly, he said to Harry "Open your eyes! And watch!"

Hoping he had been hallucinating, Harry reluctantly opened his eyes, and looked at Him. Him, a boy of indefinable age, maybe nine maybe twelve, was lying on the pavement. He had only a loincloth on and he was incredibly thin. But what had caused Harry's shock were his limbs, or more exactly his lack of limbs. The kid was left with only a small wooden bowl near his head in which were a few coins. He had neither arms, nor legs. A couple of flies were sitting near his mouth which he couldn't dislodge. His eyes met Harry met his eyes and gasped. There was nothing there. This kid was as good as dead.

"Moody?" pleaded Harry.

After a few more seconds, Moody finally let him go. Harry stumbled forward. He didn't know where he was going but he walked on blindly, his mind a jumble of thoughts. After a few minutes, he found himself in a small park and suddenly his stomach heaved. He just felt on his knees and threw up. After having emptied himself, he felt weak. Someone passed him a water bottle and he mechanically took a swallow. At last, he looked around him. He saw that Moody had followed him and was looking at him without seeming concern.

"Before you ask, this kid has probably had his arms and legs hacked off by his owner when he was very young. That makes him the ideal beggar as he can't fight it and is utterly dependant. It goes without saying that in the states he is in brings quite a lot of cash from the tourists which pity him"

"Is that why you didn't give anything?" asked a very subdued Harry.

"Yes. Most of the young beggars belong to organized gangs. Giving only promotes more begging. Are you feeling better? Ready for our next stop?"

"Not really" muttered Harry.

"This one could be dangerous. I don't want us to be mobbed so we are going to wear an invisibility cloak. I reckon you are familiar with them?' said Moody with a smirk while he took a large cloak from a formerly invisible backpack. He didn't seem to want to acknowledge Harry's turmoil. He wrapped the cloak around the both of them and Harry was surprised that the feeling was very different from his father's invisibility cloak. He didn't feel constrained like when he was sharing his cloak with Ron and Hermione. Moody produced his Portkey and soon they were on their way.

"Where are we, now?" as soon as they arrived. They seemed to be on a vast deserted plain. The ground was mostly sand. There were a few gnarled trees scattered around. This time they were not in a city as they couldn't see a building or even a road around. The sun was still high. 'We must have moved west' thought Harry.

"We are in the eastern part of Africa, in Somalia, north of the capital, Mogadiscio. The country has been in an overt civil war for the past five years when their president left with what was left of the country's cash reserves in a bloody Tank. We need to go over this dune… and you'll see what can be the result of a protracted war"

After a ten minutes walk, they had the camp in view. It was one more shock for Harry. He had never imagined people could live like that. As far as the eye could see thousands of people were living in hastily made huts made of grass, tree branches, cardboard or whatever they had been able to salvage. The people surviving in this camp –it was impossible to call it living- had nothing — no food, water, clothing, health services, electricity, or basic services.

The most revolting was the state the children were in. Most of them were all bones, as if their flesh had evaporated from their bodies. But some others had protruding bellies. "Moody, why do some of these kids have bellies so … big".

"That's a sign of one form of malnutrition caused by a protein deficiency. It's called Kwashiorkor." Moody was very sombre and didn't elaborate. Harry didn't know what to say. He didn't want to dwell on what had happened to these people. So they continued to wander around the camp, careful to avoid the few people walking around.

Harry didn't really grasp that he was walking in one of the most miserable place on earth but he felt ashamed of walking among these people, he felt ashamed of having clothes even if they were too big. He felt ashamed of always having been fed enough, even if he didn't think he could survive on it at the time. After maybe half an hour, he couldn't stand it anymore.

"Can we go now, please?" he asked tentatively.

Moody stopped and bent down under the cloak so that their eyes were at the same level. "So you still feel you have been underfed Harry?" asked Moody with a smirk.

The voice was soft but Harry could hear the contempt in it. His eyes turned downward. He couldn't meet the old Auror's gaze. "I get the point, Moody. I get the point…"

"One more stop, kid and then I'll bring you back. This one is the most dangerous. We dare not be detected so we will stay only for a very short time, a few minutes at most. So let me tell you a bit about it. We are going to Liberia in Western Africa, one more of those godforsaken countries which have been in a civil war for almost ten years. More precisely, we are going to a military training camp in Liberia."

"Why there?"

Moody hesitated a moment before answering. He shrugged and said "You'll understand as soon as we have arrived."

Once more, Moody produced his multicoloured Portkey and after a few rotations and a tap of the wand they were on their way again.

They arrived behind a wooden barrack and were immediately greeted by the staccato of automatic firearms. In the blink of an eye, Moody had produced a magic shield around them but they soon realized that it had been totally unnecessary. The shooting was not aimed at them.

Looking around, they could see a shooting range about a hundred yards from where they were standing. They walked slowly toward the range and immediately Harry understood why Moody had brought him to this camp. All the shooters were children. From what he could see, they were ranging between ten and fifteen years old. They were dressed in rags but if they were thin, they still seemed to have been fed correctly. They seemed very proficient with their weapons.

Moody bent down and whispered in his ear. "There are around fifteen thousand kids under arms in Liberia. Some of the factions 'armies' are constituted by as much as forty percent of children. Most of them were forcibly recruited. For the past three years, many faction commanders have targeted children in recruitment drives, prompted by heavy losses on the battlefield. These children were often forced to witness the beating, killing or rape of a family and were told that they would be killed if they didn't join. Others, once captured or arrested were forced to commit an atrocity that would sever ties with their community. They were told that refusal would be met with death. Bottom line, they didn't even get the choice to fight."

After he finished his explanation, he didn't move, he staid there watching the kids at the shooting range training for a war which wasn't theirs. Harry was lost in thoughts. At last, he turned to Moody, put his hands on the cube and simply said "I need to think."

When they materialized back in his room, Harry was surprised to see that they had only been gone for a few hours. It seemed to him he had been gone an eternity. He sat on his bed while Moody put away his invisibility cloak. He suddenly felt extremely tied. "Moody, can we talk about it tomorrow?"

Moody looked at him for long time, not unkindly and finally said "I'll be there at eight, kid"

"And stop calling me kid! The name is Harry!" asked him sleepily.

"We'll see. We'll see" answered Mad-eye. And then he was gone.


	4. Decision time

** Slytherin Attitude**

_**Decision time – July 1st, 1996**_

Harry's mind was stuck in fast forward. The day before, he had fallen asleep immediately after coming back from his little jaunt with Moody and predictably he had woken up in the middle of the night, but without any nightmare this time. After tiptoeing to the kitchen and grabbing something to eat, he had found himself back on his bed with nothing left to do but reflect on what he had glimpsed in his little trip.

The sheer misery of those kids was staggering. The sight of the Indian youngster lying in the street was replaying in his mind over and over. How could anyone do this to another human being? His brain couldn't understand it. He thought only Voldemort could be that evil. And that thought brought his own fate crashing on his mind. What could he do? What kind of a chance did he have? He had no hope of defeating him. Not enough power, not enough preparation, not enough time. And that brought him back to Moody and what he had said about training. And thinking about Moody made him think about what he had seen in Africa. And so his mind was running in circles. And that's how Moody found him, when he suddenly appeared in Harry's room around eight.

"You are still not paying attention, kid" boomed the old Auror.

"Are you so sure?" answered immediately Harry and he lifted his pillow to show that he had his wand pointed toward Moody's midriff.

"Better" just growled Moody. "So do you still think that you have it so bad?"

"I told you yesterday. I got your point, Moody. I'm not that dumb. I haven't had the happy childhood of Hermione or Ron, but it could have been worse. Alright!" Harry hoped that Moody would get the point as well He didn't want to have this conversation, so he tried another tactic.

"Is there anything we can do for these kids?"

"For these children, not specifically, no. But you can make sure that others don't follow the same path."

"How?"

"What do you think would happen to 'Mudbloods' or even Halfbloods if Voldemort succeeded?"

"Oh!" Harry was shocked. He had never had thought about what was Voldemort's goal or what he would do if he arrived in power.

"Quite a vocabulary you have there! Do you mind if I sit. I believe this is going to take some time" said a grinning Moody as he sat on the chair which had been near Harry's bed since the day before.

"What can I do? I can't fight him. I'm just going to die… "

"Eventually… Yes!" said Moody with a smile, while nodding.

"That helps. Thanks Moody" said Harry also smiling despite himself. Harry felt refreshed by the no nonsense, almost factual attitude of Moody. It felt somewhat better than the false reassuring and the platitudes of his friends and the annoying enigmatic ways of Dumbledore.

"No Harry. I'm dead serious. Pardon the pun. Yes you are going to die. So am I, so is everybody around you. I know that's not something the young mind has an easy time to get around. The real question is what do you want to do with the time that you have left, be it one day, one year or one century."

"I just want to be normal. Not the Boy-who-lived, not the saviour of the wizarding world. Just Harry. Normal Harry."

"Do you know who you sound like when you say that? Someone close!" asked a smirking Moody.

"No. Who?"

"Come on kid. Who praises normality beyond anything around you? Who hates the 'abnormal', the 'freaks'?"

"Oh Merlin! Petunia, Vernon" He abruptly realized that he had unconsciously copied his uncle mind set. Harry was in shock. Since he had entered the wizarding world and discovered he was famous, he had wanted nothing but to be normal, to escape the fame. And now he discovered that it was nothing but the reproduction of what he had heard said again and again by his hated tutors.

Moody had done it for a second time. He has challenged his outlook on life. And once more, Harry found his view of the world wanting. He looked at Moody and almost whining, said "What am I going to do? Moody, what can I do?"

"The way I see it, you got only two choices. Want to know?"

Harry didn't answer. He just nodded.

"I know there is a prophecy hanging between you and Him. I just know the first two lines as some others in the Order, kid. So, first and obvious is Carpe Diem! Compared to your classmates, you got a rotten childhood … and you seem destined to have a shitty time to come. So make the most of what you have. Seize the day. Grab the Potter inheritance which is waiting for you and have a life of fun. Do what strikes your fancy, party, travel, prank Dumbledore, eat as much as you want… you need to do that anyway, sleep when you need it, with who you want. Yes I mean having sex. Don't look so surprised. No need to blush either. You'll be sixteen in a few weeks for Merlin sake. Maybe you'll find out that fame can be fun… Anyway. Have fun, run at the other end of the earth and wait for him to find you… Because make no mistake, he will find you. And one of you will die. Probably you…"

'I don't think I could do that. Sounds fun though.' thought Harry. "Or?"

"Realize that what's important in life is to do what's right, not what's easy. That we all die and that in the end it's better to die being proud of what you have done. I like to be able to look at myself in the mirror when I shave in the morning… even if I could do with Tonks' Metamorphmagus abilities." The last was said with a self deprecating smirk. Moody continued with more strength. "I can say I am proud of what I have accomplished with my life. I do have a few regrets but no remorse. You will make mistakes as we all do; some will be more painful than others but you can't let them rule your life. What you must do is train and train and plan and train again and plan again… and kill Him and then you can have the life you choose … and you can be proud of yourself… and if you lose… you'll still know that you have done whatever you could... nobody can ask more that that from you… not even yourself…"

As passionate as it was, as truthful as it seemed, Moody's speech had one major flaw in Harry's mind and he couldn't let it pass.

"Come on Moody. I've lost before I even tried. He is the most powerful dark wizard of the century, perhaps of the millennium. What kind of a chance do you think I have? What chance would have a squib against you?"

"Excellent"

"Oh?"

"Are we there again? … Harry a squib could kill me easily as long as it's not in a duel. He just has to sneak his way to my bed at night and slit my throat…or bring a Muggle shotgun and shoot me in the back."

Harry was silent. And Moody continued, smirking. "Could it be that you had something more dramatic in mind… Something like a final battle with the Death Eaters on one side, the Order of the Phoenix and a few Aurors on the other. On the Quidditch pitch of Hogwarts maybe. After the ritual insults and an extenuating fight, you would finally square it off against old V and you would fight it out in the sunset. And at the end only one would stand…"

Moody paused for a moment. Harry was blushing. He had indeed visualized something like this in his dreams. Except that everybody on his side died and he usually woke up when Voldemort threw the death curse at him.

"It's very romantic, kid. But it won't happen. This is a guerrilla war, a war of terror and influence. There won't be pitched battles, only skirmishes. But we can discuss this later. My point is that you can defeat him. You don't have to be more powerful or more knowledgeable… We just have to outsmart him … and you'll deal the killing blow if that is your fate."

Moody stopped again. He stood up and looking at Harry, said "So what is it going to be, kid, partying or training?"

Moody's out of the box thinking had opened unexplored vistas in Harry's mind As surprising as it was, Harry couldn't help but find himself suddenly hoping against all odds. He thought back to his different encounters with Voldemort, 'Maybe he's right. Maybe I have a chance. For all his evil, it's not like Tom has an overwhelming success history after all.' He found out that he had never really had a choice but it didn't seem to bother him anymore. And with more resolve that he had ever felt, he turned to Moody and just answered "Training".

As he said that, he suddenly had the weird feeling that a page had been turned in his life but he didn't have time to reflect on it as Moody brought out of his backpack what looked like a metal handle. Moody walked toward the wall between the bed and the window, he pressed the contraption on the wall and suddenly a door appeared where none was before.

"Come on, kid let's go and visit our training barracks." Said a smiling Moody.

Harry dutifully followed the old Auror in a very large room full of training equipment.

"These are mainly Muggle training machines which have been enchanted to fit a wizard's training. They come from the Auror training camp. Running mat, stepper, exercise bike, rowing machine. That's for the endurance and the cardio training. And over there, various benches for developing your strength. And finally in that corner, the swimming pool.

At that, Harry looked at Moody with surprise. "Uh! … Swimming pool you said… sorry but that looks more like a giant tub to me"

Moody just chuckled and continued toward opposite the one they had entered. "You'll see kid! You'll see! And through this door, we should find our living quarters."

They entered a large room beautifully decorated in red and gold. It actually looked a lot like the Gryffindor's common room at Hogwarts. Moody seemed uncharacteristically sheepish and seeing Harry's smile he just shrugged "Once a Gryffindor …"

They each had a nicely appointed room. Harry's was a light blue while Moody's was pure white, but what surprised Harry the most was the balcony. It was very large, between three to four hundred square feet. A couple of very comfortable looking armchairs would allow anyone to relax and to enjoy the extraordinary scenery far below. On the left was an unknown fjord. You could see wild waves crashing on the shore. In front of them and reaching almost as far as the eye could see, was a dense forest and to the right in the background Harry could discern the peaks of a mountain chain.

"This is incredible." whispered Harry. He was awed by the fabulous view. "Where is it?" did he ask as it was obvious that it wasn't Surrey.

Moody, speaking low as well answered after a moment. "Not in Kansas anymore…"

"What?"

"Nothing. Just talking to myself. This view is 'borrowed' from southern Chile, in the Tierra del Fuego, not too far from the Argentinean city of Ushuaia. You are not looking at the sea but at the Beagle Canal which links the Atlantic and the Pacific, not very far from the Cape Horn . It's just for show anyway, just an illusion, rather like Hogwarts Great Hall night sky. So don't even think about taking a broom and going to the beach. You would have a nasty surprise about fifty feet out."

Harry couldn't tear himself from the balcony. Even knowing it was just an illusion, the view was riveting. So it was no surprise that he didn't hear the distinctive Pop of two new arrivals. Only the very excited voice brought him out of his dreaming.

"We is so happy to serve Mister Harry Potter! So happy! Do Mister Harry Potter and Mister Moody need something right now?"

Harry smiled as he recognized the voice of Dobby. When he turned around, he saw the familiar looking House elf had abandoned most of Hermione's hats and was now wearing only one pair of socks and one hat. He was accompanied by a shy looking female House elf.

"Hi Dobby! Hi Winky! What are you doing here?"

"They are going to take care of the meals and everything else. With the program I intend to have you follow. You won't have time to take care of such things as cooking or cleaning." said Moody as he dismissed both house elves.

At these words, Harry's mind stopped running in circles, and a feeling of dread crept up his spine.

"What about the Dursleys? They won't let me use this room. They won't let you stay here." It didn't strike Harry how welcome that sentence sounded to Moody's ears. He had the confirmation that Harry really was looking toward the training. So it was with a chuckle that he answered to a discomfited looking Harry.

"Don't worry! I'll take care of the swines." That last finally brought a smile to the teen's face.

"Dursley! You are a filthy pig! And I mean that!" And with a wave of his wand, Moody transfigured Vernon Dursley in a squealing hog.

"Not that he looks that different." muttered a very smug Harry.

The meeting with the Dursleys had not gone well. When Moody had entered the dining room of the Dursleys, they were having their breakfast, meaning that both Vernon and Dudley were stuffing their mouth while Petunia silently picked at her food. Seeing Moody, Vernon had immediately started sputtering about freaks and abnormal people. He had recovered fast and started yelling at the silent Harry who had appeared behind Moody. Things had gone downhill from there on. Hence the fat pig cowering in a corner.

Turning toward a cowering Petunia and Dudley, Moody boomed "Now. You are going to listen to me. I'm going to spend the summer in Harry's room, training him. We'll leave at the end of August. Until then, I will lock his door. Do not try to enter his room, you wouldn't be able to anyway. He'll be back next year. Is that clear?"

A shocked Petunia nodded silently. After a few seconds, she very softly asked "Are you going to leave him like that?" indicating her squealing husband. She looked like she was going to burst in tears any minute.

"Don't worry. He'll be back to his normal cheery self in a couple of hours. Don't let him out though. Something bad could happen to him in the meantime. He looks rather appetizing." chuckled Moody.

As Harry left the room, following Moody back upstairs, the last thing he saw was his aunt looking rather pensively at the now very quiet pig.

As soon as they were in Harry's room, Moody locked the door with a quick 'Colloportus' and went on to their common room. "That went well!" was the only thing he said before sitting on the couch in front of the direplace. He then turned his attention toward a medium-sized wooden box sitting on the coffee table in front of him.

With a tap of its wand, Moody activated the box. It slowly opened and split itself in two. On one side was what looked like a Quick-quotes quill, not unlike the one used by Rita Skeeter, and on the other was a bronze looking metal plate with a large hand imprint in the middle.

"Come on kid. Have a sit! Before we start your training, I need to know where you stand. Put your hand on that plate."

Harry bristled at Moody's tone. All his buried anger resurfaced in a flash. Without realizing it, he grinded his teeth together and balled his fist. Through clenched teeth, he said slowly "I won't do anything before you tell me exactly what it's about. I am fed up being told to do something and not why. If you want me to do something, you better explain why or else I'm bloody gone and I don't care what you or Dumbledore will say about it."

Moody was taken aback. He had not seen Harry in such a mood yet. For this training to work, he needed Harry to be willing. So he reassessed rapidly what he was going to tell him and started slowly.

"Alright! I apologize for that. You see, I'm more used to training Aurors. And that means that they do what they are told to do… no questions asked. But I agree your case is a bit different. On the other hand, you better get used to this if you ever want to make it as an Auror. Anyway, before we start your training, I need to understand where you stand in terms of physical and magical development."

"Are they linked?" interrupted a somewhat surprised Harry.

"Yes! Not in the sense that if you are bigger, you'll be more powerful, but … well let's just say that how much along you are in your physical development links to how much developed is your magical potential."

Harry suddenly felt very much aware of how he looked. "And you think that I'm not developed enough yet." and it sounded more like an affirmation than a question.

"I just want to know how much and how strongly I need to push you to bring you to your full potential."

"How come I have never heard of anything like that at Hogwarts? Wouldn't that be useful there?"

Moody looked at him and just said "What do you think kid?"

"Stop answering my questions by another question and stop calling me kid!" Harry said somewhat hotly. Moody's attitude was downright annoying and he felt his anger returning.

Moody stood up and locking his eyes in Harry's, barked "I will not respond to questions that you can answer yourself and I will stop calling you Kid when you stop acting like one"

Neither of them moved, but after a while, Harry turned away and said softly "Because it would cause many problems if student had any clear idea of what their potential was. Some would lord it over the rest while others would feel like second grade…"

"You are mostly right. We use it sometimes in Auror training to see if a candidate is going to be powerful enough for the job or if we suspect someone need some special training. But it's not and will never be widely used. Actually most of the times, the people who are subjected to it don't know what it's used for." Moody sat once again on the couch and nodded for Harry to do the same as he went on, "But in your case, I suspect that your development has been stunted by your upbringing. Even if you didn't have it as bad as some others, you are obviously still very short for your age. I need to see where you stand so that I can set up the most efficient training plan for the limited time we have." answered Moody in a perfectly normal tone of voice, as if they had not bee on the verge of another shouting match.

As Moody had been emphasizing the words limited time, Harry smiled despite himself. He had the strange feeling that Moody was controlling him somewhat but he nonetheless deliberately placed his hand over the imprint.

As soon as he had done it, a soft white glow surrounded his hand and Harry felt his hand burning. He tried to pull his hand away to no avail. He couldn't move. The pain increased rapidly. From the corner of his eye, he could see Moody watching calmly, not looking alarmed at all. Soon, the pain became unbearable. When Harry felt he was going to pass out, he suddenly stopped hurting. Looking down, Harry saw that a blue halo had formed around his hand, 'protecting' it from the white glow, soothing his hand. The Automated Quill started to write down and Moody bent down to look at the results of the test.

After maybe thirty seconds, the Quill stopped and the white glow disappeared along with the blue halo. Harry pulled his hand away as fast as he could. He was sweating profusely. As he rubbed his hand mechanically, Harry turned toward the old Auror and asked somewhat plaintively "What was that?"

"Hmmm… I may have forgotten to tell you that the procedure was a little painful if harmless" said Moody rather distractedly.

"Thanks for informing me now" snorted Harry "I could have told you that. So what are the results?"

"Well.. You have further to go than I thought" Moody looked a bit shaken by the results.

As he didn't seem to be willing to elaborate further, Harry pushed the point. "Come on Moody! What does it say exactly?"

For a moment, Moody looked like he didn't want to say more but seeing that Harry was boiling, he relented. "At your age, you should be between 60 and 80 percent of your potential. You are barely at 15. As for your potential, it's good enough, Kid, good enough."

He obviously wanted to let it go but Harry didn't feel like it. "Moody! How much potential!" he said threateningly.

"You are out of the scale. Out of the bloody scale, Kid." said Moody, sounding really astonished. He seemed to shake himself and continued in a more forceful tone "I can't tell you more. I don't know exactly how powerful you can get… so leave it be! I need to talk to Dumbledore. I'll be back in a while."

And on that note, Moody disapparated, leaving a stunned Harry alone with his thoughts.


	5. Physical training

**Slytherin Attitude**

**Chapter 5**

_**Physical Training – July/August 1996**_

July 1st, 1996

Harry put down his quill with a sigh. He had written two identical short notes to Hermione and to Ron to tell them that he was all right and was going to train with Moody over the summer. He didn't include his short travel experience, feeling that it was something he needed to describe to them face to face.

Moody had been gone for over two hours and there was nothing for him to do. He was bored. He didn't feel like picking up a book. He didn't want to reflect too much on what had happened over the past two days. He consciously forced himself not to think about Sirius or Voldemort.

Going back to the Dursley Room as he had started to refer calling it, Harry opened Hedwig's cage and pulled his familiar out. He tied both roll of parchments to the owl's leg. "I want you to bring that to Ron and Hermione. Please wait to see if there is any answer. Go Girl!" And at these words, Hedwig left Privet Drive in a few stroke of her powerful wings.

After looking at his friend disappear in the sky of Surrey, Harry went back to the balcony and tried to loose himself in the contemplation of the scenery below. One thing surprised him. In most of the dense forest of evergreens, the trees seemed normal but near the beach, where they were less numerous, they seemed crooked. Some of the trunks seemed to have been almost uprooted. Some were growing near horizontally. It was fascinating and soon he was trying to categorize the various forms, giving them names. He was so concentrated on his self appointed task that when he heard Moody coming onto the balcony, his first question was "Why are those trees so crooked? Some of them seem ready to fall?"

"You can't appreciate it from here but the wind is just impressive there. Ever heard of the Roaring Forties, the Furious Fifties, and the Screaming Sixties?"

"No" simply answered Harry. He didn't dare telling Moody that his knowledge was limited to what he had learned in his Muggle elementary school. As interesting as it sounded, he didn't really want summer lessons in Geography.

"It refers to the wind, to the … " Moody stopped and realized he was entering lecture mode. He smoothly changed gear. "Well, that's a lesson for another day. The trees are crooked because the wind can be extremely strong and it blows almost always in the same direction. After a time, the trees lean accordingly. Anyway, are you ready to start?"

"What did Dumbledore say?" asked Harry, remembering the testing procedure.

"About your results? He didn't seem surprised about your potential and your capabilities. However, he seemed concerned about how far you are from realizing your full potential. We have only a limited period before you go back to Hogwarts… so we decided that to try an alternative to what I had initially planned." As he spoke, Moody had started going back to their common room. Once there, he sat on the couch in front of a number of vials.

"What do you mean?" Harry sat on the floor, facing Moody and his back to the chimney.

"I wanted you to develop this summer as naturally as possible. Developing the body is tricky. You must be careful not too block growth by developing the muscles too fast. Ideally, you want to start the bulking on process when you have almost stopped height growth. But the tests made me realize that you have actually the body of a normal twelve to thirteen years old boy. If we want you to be ready by the end of the summer, we need to use magic. But for that I need you to agree to a few things..." Moody paused. He seemed almost uncomfortable with what he as going to propose.

Harry was blushing. He knew he was smaller than most but to be referred to as a twelve years old was a bit of a shock. "What does it involve?"

"Potions mostly, to allow your body to grow at the same time as we develop your muscles… a few spells to counter the effects of your malnutrition over the years, some more potions to allow you to train real hard without being too stiff the next morning, some to block the need to sleep, some more to allow you to eat more proteins than your digestive system can support, some to alleviate the pain of the exercises, some …"

"Stop!" Harry shouted "I get it. Is it safe to take so many potions together. As it been done before?"

Moody sighed. He looked at Harry and said "I'll be honest with you Harry. All these potions have been used, some of them together. But to my best knowledge, nobody has ever done the full set of what I have brought"

Something clicked in Harry's mind. He growled "Dumbledore!"

Seeing that Harry was going on a rant, Moody headed him off immediately. "As a matter of fact… No! It was Snape who came up with the list. And Yes, he knew who it was for."

Harry was in a quandary. As much as he hated his Potions' Professor, he knew he was one of the best around. His first impulse was to tell Moody to shove the potions somewhere dark… but on second thought… 'Damn! I need Hermione. What would be her advice? Go to the Library, study the different Potions and then make up your mind. Yeah! Thanks Hermione… but I haven't access to the Library, nor the time to study. '. After his internal exchange, he turned to Moody. "What would you do?"

Moody seemed uncharacteristically hesitant. "I … am not sure. Snape, as unpleasant as he is, is one of the best Potions Master in Europe. He doesn't like you, that much is obvious, but I believe that he is professional enough to give his best advice. What I am not sure is if he really knows all the consequences of mixing all this" Moody indicated the numerous vials in front of him. "On the other hand, our time is limited, if you want to be ready by the end of the summer, we'll need to provoke and manage your overdue growth spurt. And there is no way you'll be able to follow such a training while at school. If you wait a couple of years so as to do it after school, it may be too late both due to your older age and the small problem of your old nemesis…"

That last comment clinched it for Harry. Voldemort wasn't going to wait. The previous years had proved that beyond any doubt. He had to take this risk and hope for the best. After all, that wouldn't be the first time and this time he was the only one at risk. "I'll do it! What's going to be the training program?"

"We'll start with the endurance exercises. What do you want to start with? Biking or running"

July 3rd, 1996

"I hate you" yelled Harry

"I know, Kid, I know! Ten more miles!"

"Arghhhhh"

"Keep your breath!"

Harry was getting desperate. He had been exercising almost continuously for the past sixty hours. The potions allowed him to go further that he ever thought possible but it certainly didn't stop the soreness. He had been in a more or less constant state of pain for the past two days.

He had been surprised when he had discovered Moody's planning. He was allowed only five hours of sleep a night. Moody's only answer to his enquiry on that subject had only been that 'this way he wouldn't have time for nightmares'. The next blow was that he was to have six meals a day… during which they would discuss tactics, the war, his readings and other thrilling subjects among which Quidditch didn't figure to Harry's dismay. Moody had not been totally heartless though. Harry was usually allowed one hour a day of free time … for reading his assignments or some hypothetical mail. All in all Harry was starting to wonder if he shouldn't have stuck with the Dursleys. They weren't that bad after all.

"All right, Kid. We are done for now. Go and take a shower and then you should attend to your owl."

"Hedwig!" Harry started toward the Dursley room but the door shut itself in front of him.

"Shower first, kid! Time for your owl later." growled a chuckling Moody from behind him.

Twenty minutes later, a much nicer smelling Harry untied two rolls of parchments from his owl's leg. After having filled Hedwig's water bowl and having fed her, Harry went back to his room and lying on his bed he decided to read Hermione's letter first.

_Dear Harry,_

_I was so glad to receive your letter. I was beginning to worry that I wouldn't get any news from you this summer. As I told you in my previous letters, you must not dwell on what happened at the Ministry. You can grieve but in the end, you must let go. One thing I am sure, Sirius wouldn't have wanted you to mope._

_I am so glad that you'll be training during the summer. A least you will have something to get your mind off things. What are you going to learn? Is Moody staying with you? What do the Dursleys say about it? I have so many questions for you … but do not bother to send any other letter. I won't be able to receive them._

_My parents have been informed of Voldemort's return by a Ministry leaflet which arrived a few days ago. They made me contact Professor Dumbledore to get the whole story. We had to go to Diagon Alley specially to send an owl from there and they were so upset they didn't even let send my letters to you and Ron. Professor McGonagall came to our house to explain what happened to my parents. I had not told them everything about last year and … as you can guess, they are not really happy with me at the moment. They even talked about taking me out of Hogwarts. They relented when they finally realized that I would be of age a few weeks after summer and that my own savings would allow me to pay for my education for the next two years. But I had to go as far as threatening them and telling them they would never see me again if they tried to keep me out of Hogwarts. Anyway, they have decided that they wanted me out of England for the next two months so we are leaving on the fifth for New Zealand, they even found a dentist congress to go to in Auckland and we'll only be back on August 31st. I won't even get my Owl results … I think I won't survive the wait._

_I hope you'll have a good summer nonetheless and I guess I will see you on the Express on September 1st._

_Until then,_

_Love from_

_Hermione_

With a sigh, Harry dropped Hermione's letter. He wouldn't be able to contact her for two months. He was going to miss her advice … and her nagging … and her hugs. Before getting more depressed, Harry started on Ron's letter, thinking that it would probably cheer him up.

_Hey Mate,_

_Guess what? I scored! I caught my first snitch!_

_And you'll never guess who. Loony. Yeah! Loony Lovegood._

_She lives nearby in Ottery St Catchpole and she came over to see Ginny. Mum decided to invite her for a few days as her dad is currently pretty much living at The Quibbler. A couple of days ago, Mum and Ginny went out to Diagon Alley and I was alone with her at the Burrow. I was just changing clothes after I had been flying for a couple of hours when she entered my room. I swear she just jumped at me and kissed me. I couldn't do less than kiss her back. One thing led to another and … let's just say I am now a full blooded wizard. Wow. I wonder at Seamus' reaction when I tell him that he must pay me the five galleons._

_Well, anyway, I don't think things will go too far with Loony. I mean, she is still as mental as before. You don't even want to know what she wanted to use as a contraceptive. So I don't think it will last more than the summer. But it should be a lot fun until then. And when we are back at Hogwarts, I know who I want to ask out._

_Have you had any news from Hermione? Do you know if her parents received the Ministry leaflet about You-Know-Who? If they did, they are probably really pissed because she had told me in the hospital that she didn't want them to know about it._

_Dumbledore told mum that you were going to train for the summer. Bummer… but don't worry, I will have fun for two and I'll see you on September 1st._

_See you mate_

_Ron_

In anger, Harry crumbled the letters in his hands and threw it against the opposite wall. He was pissed at Ron's attitude and a thousand thoughts were swirling in his mind.

'Damn him! How can he take advantage of Luna like this? She has been fairly obvious last year, but I thought that Ron wasn't interested … and the letter confirmed it. Bastard! He is just taking advantage of her and he is probably going to dump her before the end of the summer so as to be free to pursue Hermione. After all, he has been pretty much as obvious as Luna. I'm almost sure he wants to date Hermione but has never had the guts to ask her out. Will he do it now that his ego had received such a boost? And what would I feel if they embarked on such a relation? Would I still be their friend or would I be shunted on the side, holding the candle? Would Hermione have enough time to care for me? Anyway, I don't think it could work. Hermione and Ron are too dissimilar. They don't share any common interest. He always fights with her. He ridicules what she likes. I don't want them to date … Damn … but if I'm honest with myself, it's not only Ron. I'm not that fond of Krum either. I guess I just don't want Hermione to hook up with anyone… I want to keep her as my friend, my best friend. I would be lost without her. Oh Merlin. How can I keep her safe from Voldemort? People who are close to me either die or are hurt…'

Harry's swirling thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Moody's bellow. "Kid, Swimming time".

With a grunt, Harry got up from his bed and gingerly made his way to the Gym 'Damn. I thought these potions were supposed to prevent me being stiff.'

July 21st, 1996

When he sat down for lunch, Harry was in a good mood. He had expected to have a terrible summer, stuck with the Dursleys. But Moody's arrival had been a bowl of fresh air. The pain of Sirius' death was slowly ebbing. When he thought about his Godfather, it was not with the debilitating grief of the beginning but rather with melancholy and he could manage that as long as he didn't dwell on his responsibility in the Ministry debacle. For that reason, Moody's words were like a punch in the stomach.

"Why, in Hell, did you go to the Ministry, Kid?" asked calmly Moody.

"What?"

"I know you thought Sirius was being tortured at the Ministry. But I want you to explain why you thought it was real and what you expected to do."

"I don't want to talk about it." answered Harry sulkily. He looked down at his plate. His good mood had evaporated as quickly as a drop of water on a sizzling grill.

"Tough! Because I do. You don't want to learn from your mistakes? What's going to happen when you'll see Granger or the youngest Weasley being raped by his death eaters? What will you do then?"

"I don't know!" yelled Harry. His stomach lurched. He felt sick. The images brought to mind by Moody's statement were too much. He suddenly stood up and ran to his bathroom. He had just the time to get on his knees before throwing up. When he stopped heaving, he grabbed the towel that Moody was handing him.

"I won't let you off that easily, kid. You need to get over your mistakes." continued Moody as if nothing has happened.

It was too much. Harry got out of the bathroom and threw himself on his bed. He clutched his pillow in front of his face and willed the images of Sirius going through the veil out of his mind. But as much as he tried, he was stuck in his own memory induced nightmare. He started whimpering.

Suddenly, he felt himself being turned over, his pillow snatched from him. He looked up just in time to see Moody's hand … approaching fast.

The blow, while not overly strong, was enough to bring Harry to his senses.

Sensing that Harry was back in the present, Moody continued his prodding, apparently emotionless and without pity. "Crying won't bring him back, Kid. You fucked up. You let yourself be dragged to the Ministry. He died and it's a miracle he was the only one. You need to face your mistakes. If you don't, it will eat you alive." And more gently than Harry had ever heard him "Come on, Harry, talk to me."

And, as if a dam had burst, Harry started talking "I saw him, Moody. It was exactly like when I had seen Mr Weasley being attacked. I couldn't think about anything else but getting to him. Hermione tried to tell me it was a trap but I didn't listen to her. I was so sure, Moody, I was so sure…and Kreacher lied to us …"

"What would you do if something similar happened again?"

"I … I don't know. Listen to Hermione? Get some help? But I couldn't stay there and do nothing! Nobody was available. What should have I done"

"You could have flooed to Grimmauld Place, or to the Ministry Aurors office. Running there half cocked was the worst thing to do. It put you in danger and it gave you no real hope of rescuing Sirius… had it been there. What did you expect to do anyway? Did you really expect to successfully rescue Sirius on your own, without a plan being not even half trained? Harry, a pack of Aurors would be challenged to even draw a sweat from him in a fight? As I told you before, you better train and plan before thinking about going after him. You got lucky, but luck can only take you so far. I want you to reflect on that while running this afternoon. We'll discuss what you could have done later. OK?"

Moody stopped for a moment to see if Harry wanted to argue the point. Seeing him nod silently, he continued

"Listen, Kid. You do have a responsibility in this fuck up. But you are not alone. Everybody dropped the ball. Snape didn't train you in Occlumency to avoid these dreams. Albus didn't give you any mean of communication with him or the Order after he left Hogwarts. Sirius didn't pay enough attention to his fight. Your friends should have stupefied you instead of following you. But don't kid yourself, it's Voldemort and his cronies who are to blame. They are the one who killed your parents, Cedric, Sirius … and so many others. So keep your anger for them, not you, nor the ones who want to fight on your side."

Moody pulled Harry from the bed and dragging him gently toward the common room.

"We still need to talk about the fight itself, to see where it went wrong. But that will wait for another day. Come on! Our meal is waiting."

Harry followed silently. He was a mass of confused feelings but he was sure of one thing, he was definitely not hungry.

July 31st, 1996

Harry was looking at himself in the mirror when Moody entered his room, without knocking as usual.

"Don't you ever knock, Old Man?" asked a mildly irritated Harry. Whatever he said, Moody kept entering his room every morning without knocking and that infuriated him.

"Stop admiring yourself and come out. Breakfast is ready." and he left, not having even acknowledged Harry's recrimination.

Harry blushed. Wearing only his bowers, he had indeed been studying the changes a month of intense training had had on his body. He noticed with pleasure that he was a bit taller and definitely more muscular. He had thought he had been in a good shape before, but was he wrong. Moody had been pushing him almost every waking hour of every day. It had been really painful at first, but he had come to enjoy the feeling he had after running for fifteen miles or swimming for an hour. Moody had explained it was something called endorphins kicking in but he didn't really care, he just enjoyed the High it gave him and he didn't think he could go back to his normal regimen even if he had the opportunity.

Harry put on his tee-shirt and some sneakers and left his room with a smile on his face. He was surprised to see they had a guest for breakfast.

"Headmaster" said Harry in a guarded tone, nodding to the old wizard.

"Happy birthday, Harry! I am glad to see you in a better mood than a month ago. I brought some gifts from your friends and a few letters you may want to read when you have time. Among them you'll find your OWL results. Le me be the first to congratulate you. You did very well. "

"You got the morning free. Sweet sixteen, Kid" interrupted Moody with a grin.

"Thank you so much, Moody!" answered Harry with a grin of his own, then, focusing on Dumbledore "Why did you bring the letters yourself? As a matter of fact, why didn't I receive any letter from any owl besides Hedwig?"

The Headmaster seemed as calm as ever. He looked at Harry for some time before answering "Harry … do you remember what happened in your fourth year after Rita Skeeter's articles regarding your relationship with Miss Granger? You got a lot of press this summer and a huge amount of mail to follow. I didn't want to risk a repeat of the bubotuber incident. I warded Privet Drive so as to redirect all owls to Hogwarts where your mail has been sorted by Dobby. That's why I brought the mail from your friends."

"What about the rest?"

"It's at Hogwarts…"

Obviously, Dumbledore wasn't ready to elaborate. Harry wasn't sure of how he should react. His feelings toward the old wizard were mitigated at best. He hadn't really forgiven him for his past mistakes but he realized that they had the same goal, beating Voldemort, if not the same priorities.

Regarding the mail problem per se, he was furious that the Headmaster had once again taken a decision concerning him without even telling him. But he had to admit he didn't relish the idea of receiving hate mail or Howlers and was quite content with Dobby checking his mail. Taking a deep breath, he decided he had to take a stand.

"Headmaster, you can't keep making decisions for me. You gave me your word that you wouldn't keep things from me. I know I have one more year before being of age in the wizarding world but from now on, please remember that I want to be consulted on any decision that in any way affects me. Is that clear?"

Dumbledore was taken aback by Harry's forcefulness. It seemed as if Moody's training had not only developed his body but helped him mature as well. He reassessed quickly his approach to be more conciliatory.

"I'll keep that in mind Harry. What do you want to do with the mail which his at Hogwarts?"

Moody decided to intervene at this point. "You won't have much time to read it anyway."

"Oh… Of course! Just have Dobby bring it here. I'll get through it as soon as my tormentor allows" answered Harry, smiling cheekily at Moody.

"All right…Well, I have to go. Happy Birthday again, Harry! If you need to talk to me, ask Alastor. He will know how to contact me." And without a sound Dumbledore was gone.

Moody immediately stood up and getting a small package from one of his pockets, he threw it gently at Harry. "Happy Birthday from your tormentor, Kid!"

As it was said with a grin, Harry did not take umbrage, but just retorted "Thanks, old man!"

"I'll let you have a look at your correspondence. But remember, you've got only the morning free"

"Hmm! Hmm!" answered distractedly Harry. He was already absorbed in his various gifts and letters. He was really happy to see that most of his friends had written to him. Ginny had written mostly to complain about Ron and Luna who seemed to be spending an awful amount of time locked in any available room at the Burrow. Neville had sent him a letter thanking him for having helped him with his DADA studies the previous year. To his surprise, most of the DA members had sent similar letters. It seemed they had all received great marks on their end of year exams. Even more surprising was the letter from Fred and Georges Weasley announcing that they had opened their first store in Diagon Alley and that they had made him a ten percent partner in their venture. They had even joined a share certificate to their letter to prove how serious they took his investment. And it was probably only an honest mistake that when he picked it up, his clothes were temporarily transfigured in a huge WWW ad… cap included.

After having read the letters from his friend, Harry decided to open his gifts. He wasn't really surprised with most of them. Luna and Ron had sent him an assortment of sweets while the rest of the Weasleys had pooled their money for a beautifully illustrated Quidditch book titled 'The Best Seeker Moves'. He got various books about DADA from Tonks, Kingsley, Dumbledore and surprisingly, Neville. Hagrid's gift was a pair of gloves made of graphorn hide, along with a letter complimenting him for his Outstanding in the Care of magical Creature OWL. He was surprised and a bit worried not to receive anything from Remus. As for Hermione, he supposed that due to her parents' hasty decision, she didn't have time to get a gift.

After having sorted his various gifts, Harry decided to open his OWL results. After Dumbledore comment, he knew he shouldn't be worried but he still opened his letter with a bit of apprehension. He soon realized that he had nothing to fear. His results were better than he had expected. Three Outstanding in DADA, COMC and Potions, two Exceed Expectations in Charms and Transfiguration, two Pass in Herbology and Astronomy and two Poor in Divination and History of Magic.

All in all, he was feeling pretty good while opening his last letter, but he lost his smile as soon as he started reading its content.

_Gringotts, London_

_Department of Wills and Testaments_

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_You are hereby requested to attend the reading of Sirius Black's Will on August 29th, 1996 at 10:00._

_If you were unable to attend, please contact as soon as possible Roshak, administrator of the Black Holdings at Gringotts, London._

_We wish to express our heartfelt condolences for your loss._

_Gartarok, Senior Solicitor_

_Gringotts, London_

The pain that had almost disappeared after a month of mourning surged anew as if it had never left. Harry started hyperventilating. But this time he knew how to react. 'Deep breath, Harry. You know he's gone. You can get past this.' Slowly, his pulse went back to normal and after a moment, he carefully put away his various letters and went in search of Moody to start his training for the day.

August 25th, 1996

"Bastard!"

Moody was calmly eating his breakfast, waiting for is charge to appear when the expletive almost shook the walls of their abode. Moody lifted his head to see a clearly pissed Harry Potter sitting at their table, a crumpled letter in his hand.

"What has you so angry this morning?" asked a surprised Moody. The previous weeks had been astonishingly easy. Harry had been concentrating on his exercises with fearful intensity, never shirking, always giving more than was demanded. He had made good progress over the past two months and their daily discussions over lunch and dinner had been surprisingly interesting. The boy seemed to have an instinctive grasp of tactics and was often asking smart questions. His current attitude was in strong contrast with his mood of the previous days.

"Ron!"

"And ?"

"I got a letter from his sister, Ginny. He got himself a girlfriend at the start of the summer, Luna, Luna Lovegood, she is going to be a fifth year. He dumped her… with his usual tact. She left the Burrow in tears. Bastard!"

"What's wrong? I mean if I remember my youth with any accuracy, that's pretty much how it happens. Boy meets girl. They like each other. They have fun together. One gets tired. They part from each other and then they start again with someone else. What's the problem?"

"The problem .. The problem… " Harry paused for a moment. Even with his own extremely limited experience, he knew Moody was right. But that wasn't what had happened with Ron and Luna. "The problem is he used her. He knew from the start he was going to dump her at the end of the summer. He even wrote it to me at the start of the summer. She had been in love with him for at least a year and he didn't care for her. She gave him everything and he dumped her… hard. She is our friend, my friend. For Merlin sake, she came to the Ministry with us. She risked her life for us. He had no right to treat her like that."

Moody was curious now. "What would you have done? Rejected her outright? He could have fallen for her during these vacations. No harm in giving happiness a try!"

"I … would have told her outright that I didn't think she and I would make it as a couple… and then I would have asked her if she still wanted to give it a try. I wouldn't lie… and I would have tried to let her down gently… not by yelling at her and telling her that I never wanted to talk to her again as he seems to have done."

Harry was obviously pissed by his friend's attitude and seemed ready to continue ranting for a while. Moody decided to stop him before he gets too excited.

"OK! OK! I get your point! Are we done with the Weasley love story? Because we need to hurry. We have a meeting with Albus in one hour and I want to test your progress before we go. So eat your breakfast and I'll go pack your stuff. I'll meet you in the common room in fifteen minutes… sharp."

Fifteen minutes later, Mad-eye was back in the common room, Harry's packed and shrunk trunk in his hand and his testing apparatus opened on the coffee table.

"Ready for your test, Kid?" he asked with a grin.

Harry felt somewhat apprehensive. His initial experience with the testing instrument had been rather painful.

"Is that really necessary, Moody?"

"Well. To be honest, I hoped that it wouldn't be needed. But your progress, while exciting, has not been as much as I hoped for. You look better but you still look too small for your age. I don't think Snape's mix as been as effective as he thought it would be."

Harry knew it was true. At 5 feet 5 and 115 pounds, he was still shorter and lighter than all of his roommates even after having gained three inches and twenty pounds over the summer. Harry felt conflicting emotions at Moody's words. While he felt somewhat smug that Snape's potions had failed with him. He was disappointed in Moody's opinion of his evolution. For himself, he was feeling pretty happy with the changes.

"All right. But you know, Hogwarts is starting in a few days and I don't see what more we can do anyway. I guess we'll need to schedule some training before classes."

Harry, resigned to the pain, put his hand on the metal imprint. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth in anticipation of the burning sensation. After maybe a minute during which he didn't feel a thing, he opened his eyes to see Moody looking at him bizarrely.

"It didn't work?" asked Harry, puzzled.

At this, Moody nodded downward and just said "Look!"

Harry's eyes followed the movement and saw the reason for the old Auror's surprise, the now familiar blue halo was reaching up to his elbow, protecting him from the painful white glow of the testing box. Moody picked up the result of the test, looked at it for an instant before turning his attention back to Harry.

"Your magic seems to be highly adaptive. The halo formed itself almost as soon as you put your hand on the imprint, but it didn't hamper the testing."

"So what are the results?"

"Not that good… only forty percent. At this rhythm, you'll need six more months with the same intensity to reach your magical maturity…Let's go and meet with Dumbledore."

Moody drew his Rubik's cube out of one of his pockets and a few seconds later, they were gone.


End file.
